Never before has a restaurant so encapsulated a neighborhood like Tacos Delta does to Silver Lake. Seriously, if you want to show someone Silver Lake for the first time, just grab some Tacos Delta, sit on their back porch on a Sunday afternoon, and watch the farmer’s market wind down across the street. It’s lush. It’s casual in the best sense of the word. It’s bustling with young families and hungover 20-somethings. It’s so passably authentic. It’s “so totally not THAT gentrified, at least not yet, don’t you think Tara?” It’s Silver Lake in one meal.

Stationed in a walk-up window off of Sunset Blvd., just down the street from Sunset Junction and tucked between 37 artisanal juiceries, Tacos Delta has the feel of a true neighborhood joint. Even with a menu as long as your arm, you’re going to be hard pressed to find anything not worth the low prices. From the super authentic Mexican fare (particularly, the soup menu) to dishes that even Taco Bell wouldn’t try and pass off as Mexican (who would actually order a burger here?), the food is exactly what you’d expect from a place you can walk to with $10 in your pocket and leave full.

In the end, this food is just authentic enough to make you feel good about eating it, but not enough to be any real challenge. But you don’t go for the food, at least not entirely. You go because of the feel of the place. You go for the people watching. And you go because it’s a no-frills, easy way to get some good tacos in your own little slice of “Hey Tara, this place isn’t the worst!”

Food Rundown

Quesadilla

Want to make your authentic Mexican dishes appeal more strongly to Americans? Drown that sh*t in cheese. Did that sounds like a criticism? Well, it wasn’t. It’s delicious. The asada is the best version of this.

Breakfast Burrito

The best non-alcoholic hangover cure in Silver Lake. Go for the chorizo, and make sure you grab plenty of their house salsa to burn off that gut rot.

Hard Tacos Plate

If you’re the type of person who is OK with eating a hard taco when you could just as easily order a more authentic version nearby (I am definitely one of those people), you’ll enjoy this one.